As the health and fitness industry becomes more and more adapted to modern technology, we see more accessible and efficient tracking progress.
Never has it been so easy and convenient to track your personal stats, and with it, instill a sense of accountability for your fitness goals.
For anyone looking for a more efficient way of maintaining their routine and building fitness confidence, a smart scale for your bathroom might be your next weapon of choice.
What is a Smart Scale?
As the name suggests, smart scales use integrated technology to monitor much more than just your body weight. We have a long way since “talking scales” were trendy, and companies have since developed technology to monitor and track your health stats in more detail than ever before.
In addition to body weight, many smart scales track some more detailed aspects of your body composition, including:
- Body Mass Index (BMI)
- Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
- Heart Rate
- Muscle Mass
- Body Water %
- Bone Mass
- Visceral Fat
While some may track some of these stats more accurately than others, the capabilities we now have for monitoring even the most minute details of our body allow people to track goals more accurately than ever before.
Most smart scales use one of two transmitting strategies, WiFi or Bluetooth. While both are reasonably reliable, WiFi devices tend to be a bit more convenient and a bit more expensive. For your smart Bluetooth device to share information with your smart scale, it must be within a specific range. WiFi only requires the two devices to be connected to the same network, making the transfer more reliable.
Why Use A Smart Scale
A smart scale is more than just a gadget to have; it’s a tool for those who want to stick to personal fitness goals.
For performance athletes tracking their resting heart rate to beginners actively watching their muscle mass, smart scales eliminate the “hypotheticals” and focus on the facts.
Like any new technological advancement, there is always a grey area that needs to be considered. While smart scales are relatively accurate when analyzing some of the core components, there is still a margin of error when dealing with algorithms.
Unlike more accurate methods such as the Bod Pod and DEXA, smart scales use an electrical current through the lower half of the body to make formulaic calculations and give a scientific “best guess.”
While models may differ slightly, most of the calculated error can come from natural body differences that occur throughout the day.
Top Smart Scales on the Market Under $100
Below is our list of the best smart scales on the market below $100. For those who want the most detailed and accurate products, a higher price range might be necessary.
Eufy Smart Scale
Transfer: Bluetooth
Number of Users: 16
Tested Metrics: Body Weight, Body Fat, Water %, Muscle Mass, Bone Mass, BMI, BMR
Connects With: Apple Health, FitBit, Eufy App (iOS and Android)
Price Range: $20-30
The Eufy Smart Scale has made quite an impression on the smart scale market, with a sleek design coming with a low price tag. With 16 defined users, it’s perfect for even the most extended families. It tracks all the necessities with formidable accuracy and connects via Bluetooth to update.
What sets the Eufy apart is the well designed and user-friendly Eufy App, which provides clear and concise information for users and “low, and high” recommendations based on standard readings.
It is also one of the most affordable products on the market, without a drop in value.
Withings Body Plus Smart Scale
Transfer: WiFi
Number of Users: 8
Tested Metrics: Body Weight, Body Fat, Water %, Muscle Mass, Bone Mass, Full Body Composition
Connects With: Apple Health, FitBit, Google Fit, and 100+ popular health apps.
Price Range: $50-70
Withings has a few models available on the market, all with varying specifications that set them apart. The Withings Body Plus offers many of the same readings as the other smart scales on this list and offers more detailed full body composition and nutrition tracking.
The Withings Body + also uses WiFi as a mode of transferring data, creating more reliable uploads regardless of where your smart device is.
With the Withings Body + model, it’s unnecessary to bring your phone to the bathroom with you, as it will update via WiFi from wherever you left it. A small convenience that can make a big difference.
This model also has a weather function for some fun and practical supplemental information.
RENPHO Smart Scale
Transfer: Bluetooth
Number of Users: Unlimited
Tested Metrics: Body Weight, BMI, Body Fat%, Water %, Skeletal Muscle, Fat-free Body Weight, Muscle Mass, Bone Mass, Protein, BMR, Subcutaneous Fat, Visceral Fat, and Metabolic Age
Connects With: Apple Health, FitBit, Google Fit, Samsung Health, RENPHO App
Price Range: $20-30
RENPHO also has various models on offer, all of which measure 13 key metrics and provide an easy to use application to track them. Except for one expensive model, all RENPHO products use Bluetooth to upload data.
Some of the distinguishing features of the RENPHO app are the unlimited number of user-profiles and the ability to set and track real-time goals.
Similar to the Eufy Smart Scale, the cheapest RENPHO models do not break the bank.
Rolli-Fit Smart Body Fat Scale
Transfer: Bluetooth
Number of Users: Unlimited
Tested Metrics: Body Weight, Body Fat, Water %, Muscle Mass, Bone Mass, BMI, BMR, Visceral Fat
Connects With: Apple Health, FitBit, Google Fit, Rollifit App
Price Range: $40-50
While it is not a household name quite yet in the smart scale circles, Rolli-Fit has put out an affordable model that has left many customers satisfied.
Like most of the listed products, Rolli-Fit uses Bluetooth, has unlimited user-profiles, and tracks the key metrics.
For those looking for a bit smaller and sleeker design, the Rolli-Fit is a bit more compact and entirely simplistic. It also comes with a 1-year warranty when purchased through retailers.